Erdoğan opens SAHA 2026, says Türkiye’s defence industry is “world-class”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has inaugurated the SAHA 2026 defence, aviation and space industry exhibition in Istanbul, describing Türkiye’s defence sector as a “globally competitive ecosystem” with rising demand and international credibility.

Speaking at the event held at the Istanbul Expo Centre, Erdoğan congratulated participating companies across land, naval, air, space and security domains, as well as the SAHA Istanbul cluster, which he said has become Europe’s largest defence and aerospace grouping, bringing together more than 1,300 firms and 30 universities, Turkish media reports.

According to figures presented at the exhibition, 1,763 companies are taking part in SAHA 2026, including 1,500 domestic and 263 foreign firms. Organisers said 203 new products were unveiled for the first time, while 192 official delegations and 108 procurement delegations were in attendance.

A total of 182 agreements were signed, generating a reported $8 billion in business volume, of which $6 billion relates to direct export contracts.

Erdoğan said Türkiye’s defence and aerospace exports had surpassed $10 billion in 2025 for the first time in the country’s history, adding that export momentum has continued into 2026. He noted that exports reached $962 million in April alone, while total exports for the first four months of the year rose 28% year-on-year to $2.871 billion.

“Türkiye, which exported $248 million annually when we came to office, now achieves that volume in roughly a week,” he said, adding that the government’s short-term goal is to place Türkiye among the world’s top ten defence exporters.

The president also referred to past restrictions, including embargoes and investment constraints, and criticised earlier domestic opposition to defence-sector initiatives, arguing that such policies had previously hindered strategic development.

By Aghakazim Guliyev